Ice-making machine



Feb. 9, 1954 Filed Aug. 29, 1951 D. B. MGSHAN ICE-MAKING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 //5 //z rlllllllil l l) 'l l Mi WMM? HUH 3;/ mmmHummm m44/ l 5; if i( 1,'74 D48 i l r 11 l l y 77a 70| l 1L@ l /4 Q 78 g la l/ mmm .HHH 72 Il Ill||\|||||||.||HIIHI".` /l/ y l /0 INVENTOR.

Feb. 9, 1954 D. B. McsHAN ICE-MAKING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 29, 1951 IN V EN TOR.

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lICE-MAKING MACHINE Filed Aug. 29, 1951 v5 Sheets-Sheetl 3 1 N V EN TOR. Da/70A 5. NfS/MW.

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Patented Feb. 9, 1954 Dormon Mash FFICE as '-trustee, Icecrafter YadfNuys, Calif;-

Avvlieeeaeew* 29 195,14 Seraing-@152 8 Claims.

1 This invention relates to a machine for'manu- .'ffacturing and delivering ice cubes automatically ffwherein .a number` of individual ice cubes are simultaneously frozen and thereupon i automatically defrosted and released from their freezing `cells` for'discharge to adelivery chute, as -geni erally disclosed in Letters Patent granted'V August 1"7, 1951, to John R. Bayston, No. 2,563,093,'for"Ice Making Machine. v "-"j l' *The object of theinvention is t'opro'vide mechy#anism `applicable to a machine of this general type-for subjecting' the liquid during lthe freezilng cycle to ijustisuilicient agitation arid washing Aaction as to prevent'incorporation-of impurities inf the ice being formed, to thereby produceys'ubstantially Aclear` ice cubes as distinguishedfrom "cubes generally referred to as cloud'y- The agitationand washing action above're- ,ferred to is accomplished," according to this-in- '.vention, by submerging va continuously moving belt in the liquid and directly beneath the "group "of cells'wlthin the freezing unit adapted toy be driven in a direction transverselyv of 'the 'cells and closely adjacent their partitions for creating a turbulence and washing action of the under surface of the water contained in the cells, which turbulence and washing action are transmitted upwardly in each cell to Wash the impuritiesfrom the water as it is being frozen within the Walls thereof. A further feature of the invention resides in the provision offgenerally V-shaped ribsforined on the effective surface of the belt which-enhances the agitating actionV of the water.

The invention as herein*describediis 'applied to the ice making machine particularly` Vshown and described in detail in Letters APatent granted January 22, 1952, to Gustav F. Erickson-and !-fDormon-B. McShan,`No. 2,583,294, entitled Ice Making Machine, reference being had th'eretcfin respect to the automatic controls, refrigeration and defrosting, and particularly the ,lowering of the platen from its cell closing and sealing position to its ice discharging position, the structure of said application being made a part hereof with the modification pertaining to the belt agitator of this invention as distinguished from the reciprocating or vibrating agitating plate `shown and described therein.

A-further advantage of this invention f'over and above the agitating medium of the abovementioned Erickson and McShan application `re sides inthe fact that Whereas in the former, the .platen carrying the agitating plate must 'be dropped to. a Adecided angle in its'zlowered'pc-fr (01.62-106) "sitc'in", slcfieiitlyff permit the ice cubes when ''v'elasd foirithfcells Cto`Jv VSlidetherefrom into -the icereceptacle. VBy means of' this invention finvblv'ing `-th moving; belt, and particularly 5 whereinit is provided with transverse V-shaped be. i' isimheqesseirtglower .the platen, at Such "other hand, the platen needjbe dropped down and aint'aied ignp a'rif'al-lelrelationV withl the cells at '10 y sufficient Adistance therefrom to provide over- "head'forf the released icecubes The moving f "discharge" en ofithe'platen wherethey arewfed the Plaien'tqiheifce .receptacle l "Ifhe'"full naturof the'invention'will be under- 1 stood' Ifrom the accompanying-.drawings and the ,following description and claims:

" lis aside elevation with'parts removed and broken away, of the upperportion of the ice @Waking machine showing the platen in closed ice forming Lp'ositio'n i'nfull lines and dropped f fdoilvtof-ic dischargingposition in dotted lines.

Fi f2 is"'far" enlarged vertical section through th evapbratomcludin'gfthe ice cellsk and Athe Fig'. 3s' a further 'enlargement of afsection of the belt illustrative y ofthe rib formation thereof.

l Eig. is aplanfviwbf the belt carrying platen fWith-a-vport'io of the belt broken away.

s thrfwngsjhfreS, Shown hatPQrQn 0f the; iemekiile machine pertaining' to vthe 'evaplcrater; platen and themechanism for lowering A vtherplaten asfembodiedk in the upper portion of .v-tle-frame-,structure ofthe machine. The mech- VY anisms for-v automatically controlling the alternate freezingr and Adefrosting action, and the lowering-,of theplaten and feeingthe frozen cubes -isshowm and 1de s cribed in the above-mentioned ErickSOn and;McShan Letters Patent No.

40 2,583,294, which;mechanisms are referred to and made aipartfhereonf x-Inthevdrawingsrthere is showngthe upper part .ofthe supporting frame structure of the machine includinga bottompframe'member I0, the uprightsV I I, topv frame member'IZ, and cross frame y members I3y and I4. f In the lower compartment of the frame structure and below the frame mem- .ber I4,there.is mounted suitable refrigerating apparatus f-anyj welllknown make', not rshown herein'; lbuteference. .being khad i toe-the above- A mentioned application.'

In the'upperfsectionV ofsthe Vframe structure there'is providedizafreezingi unit including a plura-lltyf ofindividualficube" forming'cells open. at `:i6 their khtopf-'and bttomias shown`rr` iii-Fig. 2;'1'said cells are in the form of square sleeves defined by partition walls I8 crossed by transversely extending partition walls I9, all of which are surrounded by the outer walls of greater depth. The outer walls 20 are formed with inwardly extending top flanges 2l upon which the supporting frame 22 is bolted and spaced by the spacing sleeves 23.

Extending transversely over the partition walls I9 there are provided sinuous refrigerating and defrosting coils 25. Said coils provide the passageway through which the refrigerant is caused to flow and are preferably in intimate contact and substantially coextensive" with the cell walls i9 to provide a sufficient heat exchange therebetween. The liquid such as water to be frozen is discharged into the freezing unit through the tube 26 below, but adjacent the desired liquid level indicated at 35. Said tube 26 is connected with a suitable source of supply automatically controlled as-shown and described in said abovementioned application. The liquid introduced through the tube 26 is distributed to each of the cells within the outer walls 20 to flow below the cell partitions I8 and I9.

Surrounding the freezing unit there is a wall of insulating material 36 covered by a top layer of insulating material 36a. For closing and sealing the unit from the bottom there is provided a platen 31 having a rubber sealing gasket 3B adjacent its edges adapted to engage and seal with the outer walls 29. Said platen 31 carries over its lower surface a layer` of insulating material 39, and about its sides and rear edges outer insulating strips 40 which are adapted to engage the walls 3B to provide an insulated closure for the freezing unit and platen when thelatter is in its sealing and closing position as shown in Fig. 2.

Said platen carries within the sealing gasket 38 a continuously moving endless agitating belt 4l, which is substantially coextensive with the cells of the unit. Said belt is mounted upon the rollers 42, 43 at each end thereof, said rollers being rotatably supported within the platen 31, the roller 42 being positioned at the forward discharge end of the platen and the roller 43 at the opposite end thereof and arranged relative to the cells so that the upper lap of the belt is caused to move in a plane closely spaced thereto with only enough clearance to permit passage of the ribs 44. The platen is recessed to receive the rollers and the return lap ofthe belt, the upper face of said platen indicated at 45 providing a supporting surface for maintaining the upper lap of the belt closely adjacent said cells.

The belt isdriven preferably through the front roller 42 which is provided with a shaft 42a.. Said shaft carries an exposed pulley 46 driven by a V belts 41 from the pulley 4B. The pulley 48 is mounted on the drive shaft 4S of an electric motor 50 secured to the underside of the platen 31 adjacent the forward side edge thereof.

Depending from the platen there is a bracket 53 to which is pivotally mounted at 54 an adjustable coupling 55 extending downwardly from said platen. For moving the platen between the cell closing and freezing position and its lowered discharge position there is provided a cam motor 12 controlled by a suitable temperature controller as described in said abovementioned application, having a gear'train driving connection with the cam shaft 14 which drives the cam'15, said cam engages a cam follower 16`carried by a platen raising and lowering lever 11. Said lever is pivotally mounted at 11a 4 upon the bracket 18 which is carried on the upright frame member II. The free end of the lever 11 is pivotally connected at 1B to a shank 19 connected through the coupling` 55 with said platen.

Upon the cam motor 12 being energized, the shaft 14 rotates the cam in the direction of the arrow'to release-the platen from sealing engagement with the evaporator cells (full lines) and permit it to be dropped down or be lowered to the position shown in dotted lines. In this latter position the platen will be spaced downwardly from the evaporator sumciently to permit ice cubes to drop and be freed therefrom, whereupon the constantly driven agitator belt 4l with its ribs 44 will carry the freed ice cubes forwardly-to discharge them from the forward end Llo of the platen.

For this purpose the rear or back end of the platen is connectedby parallel pairs of hinge straps to the uprights Il, which straps are restricted in their downward drop by the adjustable stop screws 8| respectively, each of which is carried by a bracket 82. it the forward or discharge end of the platen and immediately below its lowermost position there is mounted on the forward uprights H an ice receptacle 30 seated in a fixed supporting tray 30a for receiving charges of ice cubes delivered by the belt from the platen. Said receptacle is closed by cover-lid 93 adjacent the discharge end of the platen. Immediately below said discharge end there is a sloping perforated drain chute 94 which may be in the form of a screen over which the ice cubes slide, but which permits the free and unfrozen liquidA to pass therethrough into a drain receptacle 95 from which the liquid passes through the discharge pipe 96 to any suitable disposal.

The belt and pulley drive between the motor 50 and the belt driving roller 42 is geared down to preferably drive the belt with a relative slow movement or approximately a rate of one revolution per second in the direction of the arrows of Figs. 2, 3 and 4. The ribs 44 extend approximately le of an inch above the belt and at oppositely directed 30 angles in parallel spaced relation with each other. They are spaced from each other slightly greater than the width of an ice cube to be received therebetween when the-cubes are discharged from the cells.

The moving belt agitates the under surface water in the respective cells creating a turbulence therein which induces the film of water as it is being frozen within the cell to let go and cause a deposit of the impurities through the washing action resulting from the turbulence therein. Such impurities are carried away from direct association with the cells to the lower part of the platen and eventually discharged into'the drain 94 through the continuing movement of the belt. Furthermore, the movement of the belt prevents freezing thereon of the water in the cells in a manner to prevent ice formation on the belt or platen such as to resist its movement to lowered position and free discharge of the ice cubes.

The invention claimed is:

l. In an ice cube making machine, the combination of a freezing unit comprising a plurality of cells normally open at the bottom', a

closure plate for said unit movable to close and seal said unit during a freezing cycle, means for introducing into said cells a. liquid to be frozen intoice cubes, means for refrigerating said unit to freeze the liquid therein, an endless belt mounted in said closure plate extending transversely of and closely adjacent the open bottoni of the several cells in said unit, and means carried by said plate operably connected with said belt for imparting continuous movement thereof in one direction to effect an agitation of the liquid during the freezing cycle.

2. In an ice'cube making machine, the combination of a freezing unit comprising a plurality of cells normally open at the bottom, a closure plate for said unit movable to close and seal said unit during a freezing cycle, means for introducing into said cells a liquid to be frozen into ice cubes, means to alternately effect freezing and defrosting cycles to freeze the liquid in said unit and free the frozen liquid therefrom respectively, said closure plate being movable from said unit a greater distance therefrom than the dimensions of said cubes for receiving cubes from said cells during the defrosting cycle, an endless belt carried by said plate having the upper lap thereof extending closely adjacent the open bottom of said cells movable in a plane parallel thereto in a direction to receive and discharge ice cubes received thereon from said cells when in its lowered position, and means operably connected with said belt to impart continuous movement thereof in said discharge direction during both the freezing and defrosting cycles to effect agitation of the liquid in said cells during the freezing cycle and effect discharge of the ice cubes during the defrosting cycle.

3. In an ice cube making machine, the combination of a freezing unit comprising a plurality of cells normally open at the bottom, a closure plate for said unit movable to close and seal said unit during a freezing cycle, means for introducing into said cells a liquid to be frozen into ice cubes, means for refrigerating said unit to freeze the liquid therein and defrosting said unit to free the frozen ice cubes therefrom during a discharge cycle following the freezing cycle, means for lowering said closure plate from its sealing engagement with said unit following a freezing cycle, a continuously moving member carried by said closure plate having a liquid agitating surface lying closely adjacent the open bottom of said cells and in parallel relation thereto, and means mounted on said plate operably connected with said member for continuously driving it transversely of said cells in a direction to effect an agitation of the liquid therein during the freezing cycle.

4. In an ice cube making machine, the combination of a freezing unit comprising a plurality of cells normally open at the bottom, a closure plate for said unit movable to close and seal said unit during a freezing cycle, means for introducing into said cells a liquid to be frozen into ice cubes, means for refrigerating said unit to freeze the liquid therein and defrosting said unit to free the frozen ice cubes therefrom during a discharge cycle following the freezing cycle, means for lowering said closure plate from its sealing engagement with said unit following a freezing cycle during the defrosting cycle, an endless belt carried by said closure plate having its upper lap lying closely adjacent the open bottom of said cells and in parallel relation thereto,.means mounted on said plate operably connected with said belt for continuously driving it transversely of said cells in a direction to effect an agitation of the liquid therein during the freezing cycle and discharge ice cubes therefrom during the defrosting cycle, and a series of transverse ribs protruding upwardly from the exposed surface of said belt arranged in spaced relation for increasing the agitating turbulence of the liquid and facilitating the discharge of ice cubes respectively.

5. In an ice making machine, the combination of a freezing unit having a plurality of open bottom cells for receiving the liquid to be frozen and a removable closure therefor, of a continuously moving member having a liquid agitating surface mounted between said closure and the bottom cf said cells, and means connected with said member for imparting movement thereto in a single direction through a plane parallel with the bottom of said cells and in close proxim1ty thereto for effecting agitation of the liquid during the freezing cycle.

6. In an ice making machine, the combination of a freezing unit having a plurality of open bottom cells for receiving liquid to be frozen and a removable closure therefor, of an agitating member movable between said closure and the bottom of said cells in a single direction parallel to the plane of said closure and transversely of said cells, and means connected with said member for imparting said transverse movement in said plane closely adjacent the bottom of said cells for agitating liquid therein during the freezing cycle.

7. In an ice making machine, the combination of a freezing unit having a plurality of open bottom cells for receiving the liquid to be frozen and a removable closure therefor, of an endless belt carried by said closure with an agitating surface movable transversely of said cells in a single direction and in close proximity thereto, and means connected with said belt for imparting continuous movement thereto in one direction for agitating the liquid in said cells during the freezing cycle.

8. In an ice making machine, the combination of a freezing unit having a pluality of open bottom cells for receiving the liquid to be frozen and a removable closure therefor, of an endless belt carried by said closure with an agitating surface movable transversely of said cells in a single direction and in close proximity thereto, a series of upstanding spaced ribs carried by said belt, said ribs extending substantially transversely thereof, and means connected with said belt for imparting continuous movement thereto in one direction for agitating the liquid in said cells during the freezing cycle.

DORMON B. MCSHAN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,563,093 Bayston Aug. 7, 1951 2,583,294 Erickson Jan. 22, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date '756.165 France Sept. 18, 1933 

